Anne of Avonlea

"Perhaps she had not succeeded in 'inspiring' any wonderful ambitions in her pupils, but she had taught them, more by her own sweet personality than by all her careful precepts, that it was good and necessary in the years that were before them to live their lives finely and graciously, holding fast to truth and courtesy and kindness, keeping aloof from all that savoured of falsehood and meanness and vulgarity. They were, perhaps, all unconscious of having learned such lessons; but they would remember and practice them long after they had forgotten the capital of Afghanistan and the dates of the Wars of the Roses."

Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery

In the second book, Anne is no longer the student: she has become the teacher, and she pours her soul into it, as she does with everything.  She is home to help Marilla with their two new additions: twins Davy and Dora.  She also makes several new friends, who keep life interesting and full of love and imagination.

A wonderful read.  I love watching Anne grow up.

Anne of Green Gables

"Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It's splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world."

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

Good heavens, how could I have never known Anne of Green Gables?  I have never read this book and I can't imagine how or why!  The only comfort I have in waiting so long is that I have now had such a fun treasure in my twenties that I never knew about!

When Mary saw I was reading this she asked me, "Have you come to kindred spirits yet?"  :)  What a delightful term for those people we all hold near!

I just love this book - it went right along with happy people living in mountains and now on islands!  Anne is so wonderfully endearing I understand exactly why she has become so well known over the years.  Perhaps I love her most because she always has such great intentions.  She is such a fun protagonist.

To start the series, Anne leaves an orphanage to live with a brother and sister (Matthew and Marilla) in Green Gables.  They had planned on a boy, but feel so badly for Anne that the keep her.  Over time, they come to love Anne, in spite of (or maybe because of) her many incidents and accidents.  It is a beautiful, rich story.  I will undoubtedly read this again and again (books 2-7 are on my library counter to read right away!)

LOVED this.

Bright Island

Sailing was better than flying.  You sat still and the clean water poured around you, and the sweet air washed you clean.

Bright Island by Mabel L. Robinson

I remember that in high school someone asked me what kind of books I liked and I responded, "Happy books about nice people who live in mountains."  Christy, by Catherine Marshall, was one of my favorite reads at the time and I found a few other treasures about people living on the land that I really enjoyed.  I have clearly broadened my horizons to now include happy books about nice people who live on islands.

Bright Island is about Thankful Curtis, a young girl that lives with her family as the sole inhabitants on an island off the coast of Maine.  Thankful thrives on her island and lives for her icy plunges in the water each morning and sailing every afternoon.  She loves watching the stars and living off the land.

But Thankful is sent to the mainland to go to finishing school with other children her age.  She has never been in so much noise or with young people her age, to say nothing of her confusion about modern-day conveniences.  She struggles and learns, makes mistakes and grows.

It was not a profound book, but I really enjoyed it.  It is one I would pick up again to enjoy the sights and smells and sounds of Thankful's Bright Island.

Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat

Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat by Lynne Jonell

I may as well get to the point: I absolutely loved Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat.  It was such a FUN read.  I remember watching Monsters, Inc. and walking away saying, "That was a fantastic show.  I can't believe they could construe such an absurd story line into something cohesive."  I felt much the same way about Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat: I could never adequately describe the book but it was just so good.  And so, I'll take a stab at describing it.  :)

Since Emmy's parents inherited a massive fortune from a great uncle they never knew, they have been traveling the world, leaving Emmy in the care of a nasty nanny, Miss Barmy.  Miss Barmy is simply not kind but she is also very odd: she makes Emmy drink all sorts of strange things, rub things behind her ears, keep a remarkably full schedule, and be the perfect child.  It's a mess.  But one day Emmy stumbles on Miss Barmy in an area of town she's never seen before: a rodent store that houses all sorts of animals with unique tags on them, listing powers and abilities of each. 

And on the story goes: a well-woven plot about some impressive rodents and a smart little girl who figures out Miss Barmy while dealing with her own innocent emotions.  It was such a fun ride: one I will certainly purchase for my children and read with them again and again.

Replay

"When I am happy, I tap-dance."
-Replay, Sharon Creech

Replay by Sharon Creech

Last time I was at the library I went to grab Love That Dog and Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech...and just grabbed a stack of books while there.  Replay was one of them, and the first one I picked up.  

Replay has several circumstances at play throughout it, but the theme remains: that of players on a stage, whether the stage is life itself, a play at school, the daydreams of a young boy or the stories of the past.  The story is told by Leo, a young boy in an Italian family, trying to figure out what part he plays in life, both the present and in the bigger scheme of things.  He uncovers more as he learns about the past, dreams about the future and prepares for his school play.

I didn't love it.  It took me too long to figure out who was narrating (the voice is that of a child, and it is Leo, but is always in third person) and I think I may have missed the symbolism entirely (which is just a reminder of my lack of training in literary analysis...)  I don't think I'll pick this one up again; too many other options that appeal to me more than this.

The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had

The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had by Kristin Levine

I love people with good hearts, both in literature and in real life.  The protagonist of this book has a good heart, which is put to the test when the new family in town, with a girl just his age, is black.  The setting is the early 1900s and Dit (the main character) hoped for a new boy his age to play baseball with: proper Emma, with her avid love for books and distaste for dirt, is the last person he  could imagine spending time with.  But he does, and soon enough he starts liking it.  As a child, he struggles to understand why everyone can't be treated equally: today we do too.  I found myself cheering for Dit as he stuck up for Emma, more strongly over time, throughout the town.  The ending was bittersweet, but it was the right ending which I always appreciate.

I thought this book was especially neat when I realized the title is more than 3 words long and still all the words are capitalized - you don't see that everyday.  :)

A very good read, especially for teaching kids good lessons about the value of each person (or for reminding yourself of them and of the battles the nation has been through to get here).

Granny Torrelli Makes Soup

Granny Torrelli Makes Soup by Sharon Creech

While my husband was gone (ice fishing) this morning and I was feeling too sick with a cold to get to the gym, I picked up Granny Torelli Makes Soup.  Nobody recommended it to me, but I've really enjoyed others by Sharon Creech and simply couldn't resist grabbing it at the library when I saw the cover.  Plus, who doesn't love Italian? 

It was a fun, quick read.  I really enjoyed that the book spanned just two days and that the whole thing was the conversation between Granny Torrelli and her granddaughter, Rosie, as they make Italian food.  The style was unique, with all spoken dialogue italicized (not in quotations) and I found myself reading the book as though I was watching a play.  Plus, with the way they talk about the food you almost feel like you're in the kitchen.

This would be a great book to read with a child who's struggling with losing their best friend to someone "newer" or fighting feelings of jealousy because of what's going on with their friends.  Lots of nice lessons sprinkled throughout that would be good to talk through after reading (you could plan convenient ending times each day while reading and talk about that day's section).  I liked it.  It was simple, quick and light with some good lessons underneath.

Crispin: The Cross of Lead

Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi

This book was anything but light at the start.  Crispin's father died before his birth, his mom dies just before the starting page and his only friend, the priest, is murdered for associating with Crispin.  I put it down after 30 pages because it seemed to be going nowhere good.  I'm glad I picked it back up: it was a good read.

The setting is Europe in the 1300s and Crispin is one of many peasants living in brutal conditions, forced to work to their death in the limits of their township.  But Crispin is different, as hinted from the very beginning, and the book chronicles his many escapes from those seeking to kill him because of his unknown uniqueness.This book would be great for a first lesson in foreshadowing: within the first quarter of the book it was clear that Crispin had royal blood in him (though it took him 200 more pages to figure that out) but there was still an adventure as it was unclear who to trust and what would happen next.

The ending was not as I imagined, though perhaps fitting given the characters.  Perhaps above all it was enlightening for me to read about the situations of the peasants and lords in the Middle Ages; though I recognize it is fiction, reading about the times helps me better appreciate what the real situation must have been.